Original Research How can stream bank erosion be predicted on small water courses? Verification of BANCS model on the Kubrica watershed Zuzana Allmanov  a a, * ,M  aria Vl  ckov  a a , Martin Jankovský b , Michal Allman a , J  an Mergani  c a a Department of Forest Harvesting, Logistics and Ameliorations, Faculty of Forestry, Technical University in Zvolen, 960 01, Zvolen, Slovakia b Department of Forestry Technology and Constructions, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Suchdol,165 00, Czech Republic article info Article history: Received 19 May 2020 Received in revised form 27 October 2020 Accepted 30 October 2020 Available online xxx Keywords: Bank erosion Bank assessment for non-point source consequences of sediment (BANCS) Bank erosion hazard index Near-bank stress index Erosion prediction curves abstract The current paper deals with the evaluation of the BANCS erosion prediction model and its two com- ponentsethe Bank Erosion Hazard Index (BEHI) and Near-Bank Stress (NBS) indices. To construct the erosion prediction curves, 18 experimental sections were established on the Kubrica Stream, district of Tren cín, Slovakia. Each section was assessed through the NBS index and BEHI index and real annual bank erosion was measured using erosion toe pins. Subsequently, the relations between the BEHI and real annual bank erosion was assessed through regression and correlation analyses. The relation proved to be moderately strong, with the correlation coefficient (R) reaching 0.47. Further, the relation between the NBS index and real annual bank erosion was evaluated, which was also moderately strong, with R ¼ 0.65. Based on the measured data, two erosion prediction curves were constructed, the first for moderate BEHI, with R ¼ 0.69 and coefficient of determination (R 2 ) of 0.47 and the second for high BEHI with R ¼ 0.74 and R 2 ¼ 0.55. The prediction curves were based on data from one year of measurements and can, therefore, be used only for discharges that occurred within that year and in the region where the model was developed. In the current case, according to runoff Curve Numbers (CN), the real culmination discharge was Q ¼ 1.88 m 3 /s, which is roughly equivalent to 1.5-year recurrence interval flow (Q 1.5 ). © 2020 International Research and Training Centre on Erosion and Sedimentation/the World Association for Sedimentation and Erosion Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency lists sediment as the most common pollutant in rivers, streams, lakes, and reservoirs (MARC, 2019). According to Wilkes et al. (2019) excess amounts of fine sediment (particles < 2 mm in diameter) in rivers is a major cause of their ecological degradation. These fine particles occur naturally in the environment. However, problems arise when they enter aquatic systems in larger quantities than naturally would occur (Beaundry, 2019). Sedimentation and turbidity are significant contributors to declines in populations of aquatic organisms (Henley et al., 2000). Erosion also causes pollution of drinking water with sediment, thus, decreasing its quality (Chen et al., 2005; McMillan & Hu, 2017; McQueen et al., 2013; Prosser et al., 2000). Florisheim et al. (2008) defined bank erosion as a natural geomorphic process or disturbance that occurs during or soon after floods. The erosion of river banks not only causes changes in channel planform and cross section but is a key process whereby floodplain sediment is remobilized to become a part of the basin sediment yield (Bull (1997) cited by Atkinson et al. (2003)). Lane (1955) cited by Piegay et al. (2008) defined bank erosion as a common geomorphological process of alluvial floodplain rivers. Bank erosion corresponds to bank adjustments, often in association with changes in bed elevation and topography in reaction to modified flow conditions (stream power, bedload) or bank resis- tance. Bank erosion is associated with long-term evolution of channel pattern and short-term geomorphic adjustments that alter morphology, including widening, migration, braiding, and avulsion and associated channel abandonment. Bank erosion is one component of the natural disturbance regime of river systems and is integral to long-term geomorphic evolution of fluvial systems * Corresponding author. E-mail address: xallmanova@tuzvo.sk (Z. Allmanov a). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Sediment Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijsrc https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsrc.2020.10.008 1001-6279/© 2020 International Research and Training Centre on Erosion and Sedimentation/the World Association for Sedimentation and Erosion Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. International Journal of Sediment Research xxx (xxxx) xxx Please cite this article as: Allmanov a, Z et al., How can stream bank erosion be predicted on small water courses? Verification of BANCS model on the Kubrica watershed, International Journal of Sediment Research, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsrc.2020.10.008